For the first of a three-part series examining some issues on the table before Ohio's Constitutional Modernization Commission, Statehouse correspondent Andy Chow reports on whatâ€™s being considered on a controversial issue: term limits.

For months, an appointed panel of lawmakers, former public officials and well-connected experts has been meeting to talk about what should be changed in the Ohio Constitution. In the first of a three part series examining some issues on the table before the Constitutional Modernization Commission, Statehouse correspondent Andy Chow reports on whatâ€™s being considered on a controversial issue: term limits.

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Of all the major issues on the commissionâ€™s agenda, it appears the first big move will come in the form of term limit expansion.

Currentlyâ€”House and Senate members can serve a maximum of 8 years in office. After thatâ€”theyâ€™re not allowed to run again for the same office for at least one term. Some take jobs in the private sector, and some move to state agencies or local government positions. Others run for office in the opposite chamber. So a House member could run for Senate and vice-versa.

Ohio first implemented term limits in 1992 after voters approved a ballot measure. Since then more and more policymakers have opposed themâ€”claiming it forces knowledgeable veterans out of office and cycles-in less-experienced leaders.

â€œYou want individuals to have expertise. To develop the skills and talentsâ€”to develop the relationships to get things done.â€

Thatâ€™s Democratic Senator Charleta Tavares from Columbus. She sits on the committee thatâ€™s working on the issue. Tavares adds that voters should have the power to decide on Election Day if and when a leader should leave office.

â€œWe need people to pay attention to what each legislator is doing hold us accountable and each election make the decision: should this person be reelected or not?â€

But itâ€™s not that simple, according to Nick Tomboulides, executive director of U.S. Term Limits. He counters that term limits give voters more power, especially for those who are living in districts that overwhelmingly vote for one party or have strong special interest ties -which he says make incumbents â€œelectorally invincibleâ€. And Tomboulides adds that bringing new faces to the Statehouse can be an advantage.

â€œI would say that political experience is not the only type of valid experience and in fact legislators who have been in office for 30, 40 years often lose sight of that indispensable real life experience.â€

Leaders from both parties have called for an expansion to term limits. Republican House Speaker Bill Batchelder has said changing the limits was at the top of his agenda before he leaves office at the end of the year. Batchelder, Ohioâ€™s second longest serving legislator, is leaving the House for the second time because of term limits.

Paula Brooks is a Democratic county commissioner in Franklin County who also sits on the committee. She says term limits not only impact veteran leadership but also weaken the Legislature as a whole.

â€œYou kind of empower an imbalance of those three the executive branch more when you have a shorter term for the House and Senate members on the legislative side.â€

And the committeeâ€™s chair Fred Mills, a well-known Columbus attorney, says the general consensus seems to lean towards expanding the term limits from 8 years to 12.

â€œIt takes away a very big option from the voter. Youâ€™re allowed to vote for anyone that wants to run except for these people who are the ones that already have the experience.â€

But Tomboulides argues that the Ohio voters donâ€™t want this changeâ€”noting a recent poll from the University of Akron showed that 70% of those polled believe the limit should remain at eight years.

â€œIt shouldnâ€™t be politicians originating these ideasâ€”the people should ask for something but itâ€™s not right for the politicians to push this when people havenâ€™t asked for it and in fact have actively oppose it.â€

However, the Buckeye Akron Poll also showed that more than half of voters surveyed said theyâ€™d be ok with a 12 year term limit.

The journey towards changing term limits is long. First the commission must approve a recommendation by a two-thirds majority. Then a resolution would have to be approved by three-fifths of the General Assembly â€“ and only then would it go to the ballot.

The earliest voters could see a proposal on the ballot would be in the May primaries.

A proposed constitutional amendment that would have taken redistricting powers away from state lawmakers and given them to a new citizen commission has been turned down by Ohio voters.

Opponents of the redistricting amendment â€“ the Ohio Republican Party, along with business and socially conservative groups â€“ raised more than $7 million to fight it.

Coalition spokesman Carlo LoParo says everyone agrees that the map drawing process can be improved, and this complicated and convoluted issue didnâ€™t do it.

â€œThe voters took a look at the issue and decided itâ€™s not a better solution than the current plan. If we improve the system, we should at least improve the part of the system that everybody has a concern with,” LoParo said.

Issue 2 was backed by Democrats and union groups. Spokesman Brian Rothenberg says the other side ran a deceptive campaign, but it wasnâ€™t a waste.

â€œThey admitted there is a problem with the system. And the day will come when people will have a voice in their government again,” said Rothenberg.

Rothenberg says now Issue 2â€™s supporters will pressure lawmakers to have conversations on how to change redistricting now, and not wait till the next maps are drawn.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/11/07/issue-2-loses-big-at-the-polls/feed/0apportionment,apportionment board,Campaign 2012,issue 2,ohio,redistrictingThe proposed constitutional amendment that would have changed the way Ohio redraws legislative and congressional districts was turned down by Ohio voters.The proposed constitutional amendment that would have changed the way Ohio redraws legislative and congressional districts was turned down by Ohio voters.WOSU Newsno1:04“Voters First” Hits Airwaves With First Statewide TV Adshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/10/23/voters-first-hits-airwaves-with-first-statewide-tv-ads/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/10/23/voters-first-hits-airwaves-with-first-statewide-tv-ads/#commentsTue, 23 Oct 2012 12:28:58 +0000Jo Ingleshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/?p=37089

The group thatâ€™s backing a proposed change to Ohioâ€™s constitution over redistricting is putting ads on the air statewide. Opponents insist the ad is misleading.

The group thatâ€™s backing a proposed change to Ohioâ€™s constitution over redistricting is putting ads on the air statewide, three weeks after the group opposing the change first put their spots out.

Voterâ€™s First, the group that wants Ohioans to approve a ballot measure that would change the way congressional and legislative district lines are drawn, is putting an ad on television stations statewide.

Voters First spokesman Brian Rothenberg says he knows the proposed citizenâ€™s initiative plan is being outspent by Issue 2 opponents, but he still thinks the issue could win at the ballot box.

“Thereâ€™s still a large amount of undecided voters. Theyâ€™ve never moved from that top tier area. Itâ€™s actually got the most undecided voters in the state of Ohio. And now we are going toe to toe with these folks.”

“And when you look at the fact that our progressive base, I know the Democratic party has endorsed this in many counties, those folks are ahead on early voting when you look at the presidential election information. It actually says that we might be in a stronger position than anybody thought we were, and here we are with two weeks to go and weâ€™ve got an excellent opportunity to win.”

The Ohio Democratic Party and unions advocating on behalf of Democratic candidates and causes are urging voters to vote for the new plan. Rothenberg wonâ€™t say how much his group intends to spend on the new ads, or who is paying for them.

Here’s the new ad:

“Well, I think the ad is extremely deceptive,” says Carlo LaParo, a spokeman for “Protect Your Vote”, the main group opposing the constitutional change.

LaParo says the ad doesnâ€™t explain that some politicians and lobbyists would still be allowed to serve on the board that would draw the lines if voters would approve the plan.

But he doesnâ€™t think thatâ€™s likely to happen anyway.

“The more voters hear about this deeply flawed and convoluted proposal, the less they like it.”

LaParo notes most every newspaper in the state has written editorials against the proposed amendment and he adds many interest groups are also against it.

Ohio political activists, pushing a ballot issue they say would take partisan politics out of the drawing of legislative and congressional districts, say theyâ€™ve just suffered a big loss because of the way their plan will be summarized on the November ballot.

Republicans whoâ€™ve written the summary, though, insist itâ€™s fair and impartial. Click the play button above for Statehouse correspondent Bill Cohen’s report on Wednesda’s action by the state ballot board.

Supporters and opponents of a plan to take the power to redraw legislative and congressional districts away from state lawmakers and give it to a new citizen commission are already ramping up their fights for and against the constitutional amendment.

Now that backers of a proposed constitutional amendment to change the redistricting process have enough valid signatures to put the issue on the statewide ballot, attention turns to how to sell it to voters.

The supporters of the plan already have their mantra: “People, Not Politicians.”

Now opponents of the plan have a mantra of their own: “Protect Your Vote.”

“As the weeks roll on here and people become more aware of this redistricting issue, they will find that this is very important,” says Jenny Camper, who’s working with the group opposing the redistricting changes. “It will determine whether voters are going to have accountability in their redistricting process, whether they are going to have an ethical redistricting process.”

Camper says opponents of the plan will talk about its flaws. She says the plan leaves the legislature holding the bag to pay for the costs of the processâ€¦something that could prove to be expensive. And she says it replaces elected officials with a board over which citizens have no control.

“It moves Ohioâ€™s redistricting from a system of accountability to a system with really little or no accountability.”

But Catherine Turcer, a supporter of Voterâ€™s First, the group thatâ€™s backing this proposed constitutional amendment, says sheâ€™s not surprised that Republicans who are in charge of the process right now are going to fight the plan sheâ€™s pushing.

“We are in a winner takes all system and that means whoever is in charge draws the lines to benefit themselves and their friends. What we want to do is create a system where independents, Republicans and Democrats all have a voice.”

Turcer says there diversity of the commission insures that no one political party can control the process.

“What we are talking about is an incredible systemic reform that takes the power away from those people who drew the lines, who rigged the district lines and in effect, rigged our elections.”

As far as accountability, Turcer says the lines for the current maps were drawn by Republican operatives in a secret location in a Columbus hotel. And she notes thousands of dollars went into fees for those operatives and that hotel room. Turcer says the public had no input in that process until it was already completed.

The stateâ€™s ballot board will meet next week to consider the language that will appear on ballots.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/08/08/campaign-begins-for-and-against-redistricting-changes/feed/0apportionment,Campaign 2012,redistricting,Voters FirstSupporters and opponents of a plan to take the power to redraw legislative and congressional districts away from state lawmakers and give it to a new citizen commission are already ramping up their fights for and against the constitutional amendment.Supporters and opponents of a plan to take the power to redraw legislative and congressional districts away from state lawmakers and give it to a new citizen commission are already ramping up their fights for and against the constitutional amendment.WOSU Newsno2:41Redistricting Overhaul Qualifies For Fall Ballot On Second Attempthttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/08/07/redistricting-overhaul-qualifies-for-fall-ballot/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/08/07/redistricting-overhaul-qualifies-for-fall-ballot/#commentsTue, 07 Aug 2012 11:49:26 +0000The Associated Presshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/?p=33247

The proposal to take legislative and congressional redistricting power away from state lawmakers and give it to a new citizen commission has garnered enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

A coalition seeking to change how Ohio draws legislative and congressional districts has collected enough signatures to qualify its proposed constitutional amendment for the fall ballot.

The Voters First coalition needed to submit roughly 385,000 valid signatures to make the ballot but fell short by more than 130,000 in its initial effort. It filed thousands of additional signatures last week.

Secretary of State Jon Husted said Monday that nearly 152,000 additional valid signatures were collected. That means a total of more than 406,000 valid signatures have been certified and met the necessary requirements.

The Voters First proposal aims to take away map-drawing powers from elected officials and put them in the hands of a 12-person citizen commission.

The Ohio Republican Party is fighting the measure. A party spokeswoman says given broad powers to unelected citizens amounts to taxation without representation.

Earlier this month, members of Voters First fell more than 130,000 signatures short of getting their redistricting proposal on the fall ballot. Now they're once again claiming to have the necessary signatures.

The group that wants to put a proposed constitutional amendment on the statewide ballot to allow Ohio voters to approve a new process for congressional and legislative redistricting thinks it will be successful.

But Ohioâ€™s Republican Party is fiercely fighting that plan.

Opponents of the current method for drawing lines for congressional and statehouse districts have presented nearly 400,000 more petition signatures to the Ohio Secretary of Stateâ€™s office.

The groups needs close to 386,000 valid signatures, and only about 255,000 of the signatures the group had submitted earlier turned out to be deemed valid. If about 132,000 of the new signatures are ruled to be good, the group will be able to put the issue before voters.

But Izzy Santa with the Ohio Republican Party says sheâ€™s skeptical.

“Given all of the fraud they have committed with petition circulators, allowing family members to sign on behalf of others who arenâ€™t present, we are very suspicious of the signatures they have submitted.”

Backers of the redistricting proposal say those incidents were isolated, involving just a few paid signature collectors. And, the group notes, those signatures were thrown out.

But even if enough of the new signatures are eventually certified, Santa doesnâ€™t think Ohioans will want to vote for the plan.

“Voters essentially want accountability in their government and this proposal strips that by forming an unelected commission that doesnâ€™t answer to anyone. And on top of that, it gives them a blank check. I donâ€™t know how thatâ€™s good government by any means.”

But a backer of changing the current line drawing system, Dan Tokaji, says Santaâ€™s complaints could easily be made about the current redistricting process that benefits the party in charge.

In this case, the Republicans.

“They talk about a blank check,” Tokaji says, “but the reality of it is that our politicians and their cronies spent almost 10 thousand dollars reserving a secret hotel room almost right next to where we are standing now so that no one could see who is going in and out.

“They paid 210,000 dollars off the books to two of their staffers off the books so that they could draw their maps in the secret bunker.”

Tokaji says Republicans donâ€™t like this proposed change because politicians could no longer rule the process.

“Weâ€™ve already seen the opposition use confusion to try to muck things up. But we are confident our simple and clear message will get through. This is about putting power where it belongs in the hands of we the people, taking it away from politicians and their cronies. That is what the voters first initiative is all about.”

Itâ€™s believed that the current maps give Republicans a big advantage in congressional races, with 12 of the 16 districts drawn in a way that the districts will likely go for GOP candidates.

In legislative races, itâ€™s expected the lines are drawn in a way that will let the current Republican majority in the Statehouse retain control for the next decade.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/07/31/voters-rights-group-claims-to-have-enough-signatures-again/feed/0apportionment,congressional,legislative,redistricting,voters rightEarlier this month, members of Voters First fell more than 130,000 signatures short of getting their redistricting proposal on the fall ballot. Now they're once again claiming to have the necessary signatures.Earlier this month, members of Voters First fell more than 130,000 signatures short of getting their redistricting proposal on the fall ballot. Now they're once again claiming to have the necessary signatures.WOSU Newsno3:06Redistricting Coalition Submits First Signatures For Amendmenthttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/03/20/redistricting-coalition-submits-first-signatures-for-amendment/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/03/20/redistricting-coalition-submits-first-signatures-for-amendment/#commentsTue, 20 Mar 2012 11:28:41 +0000The Associated Presshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/?p=25113

An Ohio coalition of voter groups has submitted initial paperwork as it pushes for a state constitutional amendment that would take away elected officials' power to draw legislative and congressional districts.

A coalition of voter groups has submitted initial paperwork as it pushes for a state constitutional amendment that would take away elected officials’ power to draw legislative and congressional districts.

Maps are now redrawn by state lawmakers once a decade to reflect population shifts. The proposal would move district map-making to a 12-person citizen commission.

The coalition submitted an initial 1,700 signatures and its proposed summary wording on Monday. They need attorney-general approval before gathering another 386,000 voter signatures by July in order to get the proposal on the fall ballot.

Next Tuesday, Ohioans will pick their candidates for the fall ballot in the stateâ€™s new 14 Congressional districts.

But next weekâ€™s vote could decide more than just whoâ€™s on the ballot this fall â€“ it could decide the ultimate winner.

This primary is an uphill battle for 29 year old Graham Veysey.

“You look at this race, and itâ€™s really a David versus not just one Goliath but two Goliaths.”

Veysey is running for the Democratic nomination in the newly drawn 9th U.S. House district, against 10th district Rep. Dennis Kucinich and incumbent Marcy Kaptur.

Normally a new contender would expect a challenge in running against a veteran lawmaker, but the map that Republican lawmakers drew last fall put two nationally-known Democrats into the same Democrat-dominated district, leaving Veysey with a tough job of raising money and attention.

Republicans had to combine Ohioâ€™s 18 districts into 16, and tilted the map toward the GOP. But critics are saying not only does Ohioâ€™s Congressional map likely mean a dozen Republicans versus four Democrats, but the partisan gerrymandering creates very safe seats for both parties and little competition between the parties.

Catherine Turcer is with Ohio Citizen Action, which has been working on reforming the way the maps are drawn.

“That means that competition is only in the primary. And so we actually have some seats here in Ohio that itâ€™s very clear itâ€™s going to be over in March.”

Turcer says “some seats” actually is closer to most of them. She predicts 14 out of 16 contests will be decided in the March primary.

David Cohen is with the Bliss Institute for Applied Politics at the University of Akron. He takes Turcer’s predictions a step further.

“I think 15 will be decided by what happens on March 6,” Cohen says.

“Gerrymandering is legal if itâ€™s done right, and in Ohio, we have a map that was partisan gerrymandered to the extreme, in a state that really is 50-50 in terms of party identification.”

Cohen says the only district that appears up for grabs is the 16th, where once again two members of Congress are battling it out. But since Republican Jim Renacci and Democrat Betty Sutton are from different parties, that fight will happen in November. B

ut after the primary, Cohen says there are likely to be few surprises in the other 15 districts.

And in two districts â€“ the 8th, where House Speaker John Boehner is running, and the 11th, where Representative Marcia Fudge is on the ballot â€“ the only contest is the primary because there are no major party opponents in the fall.

The map candidates are running under is a compromise. The first map infuriated Democrats so much they started a petition drive to take it to the ballot, which would have meant a chaotic election for Congress this year. But the party was already getting signatures for an attempt to repeal an election reform law, so its resources were stretched thin.

Ohio Democratic Party chair Chris Redfern blames his colleagues in the national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

“You literally have to pay people to collect signatures when youâ€™re up against a hard deadline,” Redfern says. “And the ‘D-Trip,’ our friends in Washington â€“ our so-called friends in Washington â€“ were pretty stingy in the days before Christmas, didnâ€™t fund the effort. We fell short of the signatures, and I was sorely, and remain sorely disappointed by that.”

In the end, 25 Democrats voted for a compromise with Republicans to alter the disputed map slightly and combine two primaries into one. Republicans have said they feel the Congressional map is fair, and that Democrats could have changed the map-drawing process in 2010 by voting for a bill from Republican then-Sen. Jon Husted.

But Redfern says he is committed to working toward a change in the way the maps are drawn in the future.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/02/28/redistricting-shifts-importance-to-primaries/feed/0apportionment,congressional,husted,redfern,redistricting,turcerOhio's new Congressional map has made next week's primary election the only substantial obstacle for many candidates to win office.Ohio's new Congressional map has made next week's primary election the only substantial obstacle for many candidates to win office.WOSU Newsno3:57Legislative Districts Not Done Yethttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/09/30/legislative-districts-not-done-yet/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/09/30/legislative-districts-not-done-yet/#commentsFri, 30 Sep 2011 12:25:07 +0000Karen Kaslerhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/?p=15747

Last-minute concerns force the Apportionment Board to meet again today.

As Democrats file suit over the map for Congressional districts, the map that covers lawmakers in the state House and Senate apparently isnâ€™t set either, even though the state Apportionment Board approved new districts earlier this week.

At issue are the Cuyahoga county’s 21st and the 25th Senate districts, now represented by Democratic Senators Shirley Smith and Nina Turner. Democratic Rep. Sandra Williams had asked the apportionment board if her House district could be moved into Smithâ€™s district and out of Turnerâ€™s. The board found her request to be confusing and didnâ€™t act on it, though Minority Leader Armond Budish of suburban Cleveland notes no one talked to her about it.

â€Apparently itâ€™s like the game of telephone. Things did not get conveyed the way they were stated,” Budish says.

The board will now meet Friday afternoon, and itâ€™s expected Williamsâ€™ House district will indeed be moved into Smithâ€™s Senate district and out of Turnerâ€™s, as Williams requested. Williams canâ€™t run again for her House seat in 2014, and Smith is term limited in the Senate then â€“ but Turner is not. Jim Slagle at the Ohio Campaign for Accountable Redistricting notes that Williams would end up in a Senate district favored toward Democrats with no incumbent.

â€œThatâ€™s our problem with this process. The politicians should not be the ones drawing the districts. They ought to be taking input from the public,” Slagle says.

Williams had said she thinks moving her district into Smithâ€™s district would satisfy concerns about minority representation. But Slagle says the move would put the same concerns into Turnerâ€™s district. Turner said in a statement that the reconvening of the apportionment board is â€œa nightmareâ€, and that the communities in northeast Ohio should be insulted by those who control the process.